Elon Musk’s X sues Media Matters over report about ads appearing next to pro-Nazi posts
- Major brands including Apple and IBM have paused advertising on the platform after the non-profit reported finding ads displayed with antisemitic content
- X asked a US federal court to order Media Matters to pay unspecified cash damages and to take down the report
Elon Musk’s X Corp. on Monday sued non-profit Media Matters for driving advertisers away from the platform formerly known as Twitter by portraying it as rife with antisemitic content.
In a lawsuit filed in US federal court in Texas, X accuses the organisation of “tricking the algorithm into thinking Media Matters wanted to view both hateful content and content from large advertisers.”
Apple, Comcast, NBCUniversal and IBM were among high-profile brands that paused advertising on X last week after Media Matters reported finding ads displayed with pro-Nazi content.
The advertising exodus also came in the wake of Musk endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
“This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said.
“Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.”